Lubbock Citizens Send Community Alert

An e-mail is circulating through Lubbock, warning of a potential threat that could literally knock on your front door. It claims a convicted sex offender is going through Lubbock neighborhoods trying to sell Avon and cleaning products.

The e-mail warns of a door-to-door salesman and goes on to name the suspect. NewsChannel 11 did some digging, and found the 27-year-old man has been convicted of assault and battery in Virginia. We also got his mug shot, and showed it to one woman who says it is the same man who knocked on her door, but we've learned this suspect is not a registered sex offender.

According to Lubbock Police, he's not doing anything illegal at all. Therefore, we are not naming him, but those who say this suspect has knocked on their doors want others to be on alert.

"I opened my door about 10 inches," Sara Wilson said.

Wilson tells NewsChannel 11 the suspect knocked on her door last Monday.

"All he had was a backpack and a spray bottle," Wilson said.

She described him as a black man, tall, slender, and not professionally dressed. Wilson says he tried to sell her a cleaning product. She politely declined and the suspect left. Then on Wednesday she received an e-mail alerting her to a potential threat.

"When I read the email, I thought ‘oh my gosh, that was the guy'," Wilson said.

The same e-mail has now been forwarded across the city. It says there is a convicted sex offender in the area, and that he's selling products door to door.

"We were contacted to find out if he's required to register in the state of Texas or not, which he's not. He's not convicted of any type of sexual offense," Lubbock Police Corporal Mark Long said.

In 1991, authorities in Virginia arrested the suspect on a charge of sexual battery. He was later convicted of assault and battery. Then, he moved to Iowa where law enforcement mistakenly registered him as a sex offender.

"There was a miscommunication in another state that was requiring him to register as a sex offender," Long said.

Police are aware of the current situation, but say the suspect isn't doing anything illegal in Lubbock. That's why Wilson is part of a chain of e-mails warning folks to watch out.

"I don't feel like he would come back because of the response I gave him," Wilson said.

Corporal Long tells NewsChannel 11 the suspect does have a warrant for theft out of Black Hawk County, Iowa, but state authorities will not extradite him for that charge. Long reminds folks to check who's at their door before opening it, and says if you have concerns call police.

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